The present invention relates generally to computers, and more specifically to hybrid enterprise servers.
Enterprise servers having a variety of different architectures are currently available on the market. Typically, certain architectures are more efficient at executing one or more particular types of workloads (e.g., on-line transactions, graphics intensive applications such as engineering design tools, etc.). In computer configurations that include servers with different architectures (i.e., hybrid enterprise servers), attempts are often made to place workloads on the server best suited to the workload. For example, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has recently introduced a new architecture known as zHybrid or zBx. The zBx architecture uses a System X® BladeCenter® server as an offload processor to a System Z® server for certain types of workloads. The ability to move workloads between servers allows each server to be employed for the types of workloads that each is best suited to execute. Current implementations of the zBx architecture require a private Ethernet network to interconnect a System z server and a BladeCenter server.